WASHINGTON, Feb. 22 (UPI) -- A Republican effort to "play politics" with the planned Keystone XL pipeline is what ultimately caused the project's delay, a White House spokesman said.
Canadian pipeline company TransCanada has to re-apply for a U.S. permit to build its Keystone XL pipeline after U.S. President Barack Obama denied an application earlier this year. Republicans inserted a measure in payroll tax legislation that gave Obama until mid-February to approve the project, a deadline the White House said was "arbitrary."